Sunday, November 1, 2015

In a panel discussion at the University of Colorado after the recent Republican debate, I was asked by a student why she should be a Republican. The question forced me to ask myself the same thing.

Moonstruck lovers of the abominable status quo helped spark decision

I gave the young woman the standard talking points–that Republicans believe in smaller government, individual rights, fiscal responsibility, and free enterprise. But as I drove home, her question–and my inability to respond with any level of real conviction–got me thinking: Does the Republican Party leadership fight for these values and principles today?

After much thought, I reluctantly concluded that the answer is “no.” The proudly socialist Democrats are full of passionate intensity, while the Republican leadership is full of pathetic excuses. After this week’s House GOP “budget deal,” which betrays nearly every promise made to grassroots conservatives since 2010, I have decided it is time to end my affiliation with the Republican Party.

This decision has been incubating over the past 17 years, years of watching the downward spiral of the Party of Lincoln and Reagan into the Party of Democrat Lite.

•As a Member of Congress for ten years (1998-2008), I was subjected to threats and pressures from the Congressional Leadership and President George W. Bush to support the creation of an expensive Medicare prescription drug program–even though creating a new government spending program financed by massive debt flies in the face of the Republican Party’s core principles.

•Our most powerful and influential “leaders” were shoving this down our throats in a crass political effort to use taxpayer money to buy the votes of senior citizens–particularly in the state of Florida in the next presidential election.

•I was incredulous about the fact that the most intense lobbying I had ever seen undertaken by our “leadership” was not an effort to limit government or the dollars it spends; it was to do just the opposite.

•That incident came just months after I was told by President Bush’s top political operative, Karl Rove, “never to darken the door of the White House again” because of my criticism of the administration’s dangerously lax immigration policies in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

When I first arrived in the U.S. House of Representatives, I naively believed that it was primarily the Democrats who were committed to open borders. But I quickly learned the entire Republican establishment also supported a policy of immigration non-enforcement.

I was repeatedly pulled into the office of the then-Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, and threatened with dire consequences if I continued to speak out publicly for common-sense immigration policies and true border security – particularly if I was doing so in the districts of other Republican Members of Congress.

For most of those years after 2000, we had a Republican President and a Republican-controlled Congress, but the conservative agenda was largely ridiculed and abandoned.

Across America, in every state, countless hardworking Americans have taken time away from their families and their jobs to volunteer on political campaigns– knocking on doors, making phone calls and talking to neighbors – all to support the effort to beat back the Obama agenda. In 2010, that grassroots effort resulted in the Republican takeover in the House. In 2014, it resulted in Republicans sweeping to power in the U.S. Senate – and the largest House majority since Herbert Hoover was President.

•They have voted twice in four years to violate the very modest, bipartisan caps on spending put in place with the laughably-named “Budget Control Act” in 2011 — and now have abandoned the caps completely.

•They have voted to continue funding what is essentially a $500 million macabre earmark for abortion provider Planned Parenthood.

•They have voted to fund Obamacare, and despite promises, have never passed a complete repeal of the PPACA.

•No one has been held accountable for the outrageous IRS and VA scandals.

•And now, as icing on the poisoned cake, House Republicans have elected a Speaker who was not asked to renounce his commitment to open borders and amnesty, policies which will betray the values of 75% of the party and give Democrats a permanent electoral majority within a decade.

Even in foreign policy the Republican Party leadership has deceived those who elected them by engineering passage of the pathetic Corker/Cardin amendment – which greased the skids for President Obama’s flawed Iran deal to clear Congress without having to meet 67 vote threshold for ratification that the constitution requires for binding international treaties. No one will be surprised if they do the same thing with the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership.

•Republicans are repeatedly asked to capitulate today in exchange for better options tomorrow.

•After the next election, after we win one more office or a few more seats – then, after that next election conservative reforms will be considered.

•Somehow, that brighter tomorrow never comes.

But times have changed. In 2010, the Republican rank and file stopped drinking the Kool Aid and started demanding accountability. And demanding results. The conservative electorate that elected Republican majorities is tired of capitulation.

The conservative majority in the Republican Party wants leaders who will stand and fight, leaders who will be as passionate about advancing an American agenda as President Obama and the Left are at advancing the global socialist agenda.

•Grassroots Republicans want Republican leaders who are as assertive and consistent in pushing a policy agenda as Senator Harry Reid, Democrat, Nevada was when Democrats controlled the Senate. They should use tools like Budget Reconciliation aggressively, adding conditions to spending bills and legislative initiatives that the White House wants.

•That hardball approach is the only way to deal with an imperial President and make good on the many promises that Republican politicians have made to Americans.

Sadly, it has become obvious that the Republican establishment simply has no intention of ever fulfilling promises made in platforms and campaign speeches. To their mind, there are elections, and then there is “governing,” and governing to them means not messing with a gargantuan government on autopilot.

•The Republican establishment does not want to control spending.

•It does not want to secure the borders or enforce immigration laws.

•It does not care about American sovereignty.

•It has no interest in ending the unaccountable and corrupt culture that has become a hallmark of official Washington.

By insulting the grassroots, the GOP leadership has set upon a suicide mission. The problem is that failed leadership is allowing Obama to destroy the Constitution and take the whole country down the drain. Well, count me out.

The Boehner budget deal is the last straw, and enough is enough. I cannot any longer defend this transparently dishonest charade called the Republican Party.

What I will do instead is join the largest political group in the nation, unaffiliated Independents. In Colorado, they outnumber both “major” political parties.

The next day I will begin working my tail off for the next twelve months to organize Independents to help elect Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas as President of the United States. Cruz is the only candidate who both understands the left’s agenda and has demonstrated the courage to fight for our liberties, our sovereignty, and the survival of constitutional government.

Why else do you think he, like so many others who dared to question the Establishment, he received no support from his party and so, virtually disappeared from public life?

If The Establishment could permanently silence all meaningful opposition, they wouldn't hesitate for a nanosecond so to do. They ARE in fact TYRANNISTS –– the only word to describe the whole lot of them adequately.

My impression, which I admit is based on severely limited knowledge, is that the Fathers would not suffer any impingement by the government upon the exercise of religious freedom. Indeed, I can imagine their response to any such attempt would be swift and violent.

Why is it People of the Left –– especially atheists –– seem to have lost touch with the preeminence of the Law of Self-Preservation?

Islam is not a religion, it is an incursion, an invasion, an aggression, a Trojan Horse, if you will. It has no legitimate place in western societies.

It is one of my fondest hopes that we will not have to learn that the hard way.

"Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

~ Patrick Henry (1736 -1799)

"Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

Surely you understand me well enough by now to know that this is a false argument?

I understand self-preservation, and I agree with you that we have enemies who must be vanquished, or at least contained.

Our disagreement is over the identity of that enemy. You want to take on the entire Muslim world, I want to focus more on the trouble makers, which is largely a small subset of the Muslims. That subset includes ISIS and other insurgent groups, it also includes some recognised governments. It doesn't include the majority of devout civilian Muslims.

It is, indeed. Frankly I hope you are correct, but I don't believe you are. I'm one of those dreadful old fogeys who'd rather be safe than sorry.

Islam is an AGGRESSIVE, CORROSIVE POLITICAL MOVEMENT that MASQUERADES as a "RELIGION." It's aim always has been and always will be to CONQUER and DESTROY anything unlike itself. Its basic tenets outlined in the Koran and the hadiths are antithetical to Western Ideals of Freedom, Individualism, and Self-Determination.

I suspect that because you appear to scorn the very idea that a Deity could exist, you may be unaware of the tremendous power religious fervor can generate. Other names for it are Mob Psychology and GroupThink.

Sometimes, religious fervor may be a force for good, but too often, because of the machinations of charismatic demagogues, it becomes a great evil –– a kind of Collective Madness, if you will.

"TAKEEYA" (I refuse to employ the absurd use Q's for K's) is effectively a synonym for DECEIT. If you've ever tried to bargain with a Middle Eastern Rug Merchant, you should know what I mean. ;-)

Better safe than sorry, but don't you perceive the risk in threatening fully 22% (more than 1 in 5) of the world's population?

I'm not aware of any of the basic Islamic tenets which conflict directly with Western mores, eg. each of the five pillars seems fine. What do you have in mind?

You're right, I am an atheist, but I do not scorn the notion of a deity. I'm also an ex-Christian, so have experienced my share of fervour. :) (and the dangers are obvious -- this is after all the whole reason why we distrust religiously-motivated legislation.)

You misunderstand the meaning of DIDADIN, Jez. I have no desire to try annihilate all the followers of Mohammed. I just want them to be sent back to and remain in their countries of origin and not pollute England's green and pleasant land, Europe's repository of rich cultural artifacts or my country's uniquely brash, improbable blend of disparate-but-essentially-harmonious influences.

And once displaced, how do you imagine these American, British and European muslims would be disposed towards our worlds? At the very least, I would expect the middle east's immediate response would be to eject any christians living there -- about 15 million of them. Pissing off tens of millions of people is exactly what I would do if I were trying to generate terrorists. They would presumably seek to settle among us, and I wouldn't be so sure that they'd assimilate any more easily than the muslims we just kicked out.

Most of whom are, IMO, perfectly fine. The muslims I know fit in quite well around here. Of course, there are strains of Islam which are as you describe, but your recommendation throws out an awful lot of baby with a tiny amount of bath-water.

What makes America successful? Many factors, but one prominent one is her openness. Closed economies like China limit the pool of talent they can draw from; America can welcome the best from the whole world. If you partition the world along a religious fault line, you would cede that advantage.

The derps who support Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan either don't read or they don't know how. It's easier to just believe the ka-ka that Trump spews without putting any thought into finding out if its true. Tea Party followers? Yup. The people who supported the pit bull with lipstick and her trailer trash.

Trump and Carson are the only political "moderates" left in the race (after Webb's exit). Rubio's to their Democrat-loving Left. Cruz is on their Right. If you can't stomach Trump, you're going to love President Cruz. :)

Don't you realize that the "side" you want us to believe you support is at least EQUALLY –– and I think far MORE –– guilty of spewing "caca," smearing it on every available surface and flinging it about irresponsibly.

These miserable exchanges of cliché-ridden hate rhetoric from BOTH sides are useless as they are BORING.

Stomp's true nature and true identity –– that of an obnoxious, duplicitous bastard troll –– have emerged. His vile characteristics always assert themselves eventually no matter what "guise" this wily persona non grata tries to assume. He just can't help being who he is, poor fellow, therefore, Stomp is now officially rejected at this blog.

I know this is late, but I'm going to post a link at my blog mystere's moonbat slayer club. If you think it's not a good idea or a good match and decide you want me to remove it from my blog, I will kindly respect your wishes. I will likely need to see the response at the post if you decide to ask me to remove it. I admit I tend to be daring at times.

Gratuitous Displays of Extraneous Knowledge Offered Not To Shed Light Or Enhance the Discussion, But For The Primary Purpose Of Giving An Impression Of Superiority are obnoxiously SELF-AGGRANDIZING, and therefore, Subject to Removal at the Discretion of the Censor-in-Residence.